hit the philippines. complete details straight ahead. >>> we are ten days away interest congress going on break. no approved plan to keep us from going over the fiscal cliff. >>> good morning. welcome to "early start." i'm christine romans in today for john berman. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. it is wednesday, december 5th, 6:00 a.m. in the east. let's get started here. up first, president obama refusing to blink in the bitter fight over the fiscal cliff. in 27 days americans face severe tax hikes and spending cuts if democrats and republicans cannot cut a deal. and remember folks, that congress breaks for the holidays, that is in ten days. so slash that number. in an interview with bloomberg tv, the president making it clear any agreement has to include tax hikes for the wealthiest americans. >> if we're going to be serious about reducing our deficit, while still being automobile to invest in things -- able to invest in things like education and research and development that are important to our growth, and